To Learn from Anyone and Everyone: Ask

Only humans ask questions.As early as 375 B.C., Plato emphasized the importance of teaching children how to ask and answer questions.As humans, learners have a unique disposition to increase their knowledge---and they do that by asking questions.In an instructional setting, asking questions to learn from anyone and everyone is a unique skill set.Research suggests that asking is the one thing that consistently allows one to peer into the heads and hearts of other people.In an academic environment, the intent in asking questions is to learn directly from others to surface what they know, think, and feel.Illustratively, this paper details nine examples of asking questions to determine what both learners and colleagues know, think, and feel.